This week John Andrews of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group looks at HMRC's latest "Amnesty" - the Tax Catch Up Plan

It has been ”teachers and tutors week” for HMRC with the announcement of their latest “offer” to a segment of the UK population who have not, perhaps, been accounting fully for all of their income.

The Tax Catch Up Plan for teachers, tutors, coaches etc. was launched on the HMRC website home page as “a unique time limited opportunity”. We shall soon be expecting a 3 for 2 offer, but only for those with a loyalty card.

At this rate HMRC should have made unique offers to all of the UK population by 2031. The reality is that, on grounds of fairness, HMRC will give pretty much the same deal to anyone who would like to make a voluntary disclosure. But that is only explained in the very small print.

Is it fair that HMRC should make the process so complex that anyone who would like to get their tax affairs straight really should engage a professional tax adviser to ensure that they do things properly? Is it not possible to explain the process in fewer than 7,700 words (and that is only the introductory guide)?

And does HMRC comply with their Charter when they persuade a low income taxpayer to “cough up” with a reassurance that they will not be prosecuted by HMRC, without telling the taxpayer that for the same non-disclosure they may well subsequently get prosecuted by their local authority for benefit fraud?

Might it not be the time to be really bold and to target the whole population with a one-off amnesty? And if they did that with a modicum of commonsense they could make the process very simple and collect enormous sums of money really quickly.

The risk I suppose is that the mobile phone companies and the merchant bankers might take advantage of them and that would never do would it?

For more information on the Tax Catch Up Plan see HMRC's website Tell HMRC Now About Your Income from Tuition and Coaching

Article Added Sunday, 16 October 2011 | 695 Hits

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